join him from all directions, yelping and squealing with excitement.
The whole party set off at a run, amid cheers and laughter.

"What is it, what is it?" said Mary.

"One of the dogs has found a 'possum up a tree, and the children
will try to get him down. Come on! Mind where you go. The black
shadows are very hard to judge, and sometimes a log or a bush is
hidden in them. There goes Poss over a log," he added, in explanation
of a terrific crash and a shout of laughter from the others. "What
is it, Emily?" he asked as one of the children ran past.

"It's Thomas Carlyle has found one," she said, "and he never barks
when the 'possums are up big trees. He knows we can't get them then,
so he only looks in the saplings. The other dogs find them in the
big trees, but that's no good."

A sharp run brought the party to the foot of a small tree, surrounded
by a circle of dogs, all sitting on their tails and staring with
whimpers of anxiety up to the topmost branches, where a small furry
animal was perched. Mary Grant, under Blake's directions, got the
animal silhouetted against the moon, and saw clearly enough the
sharp nose, round ears, plump body, and prehensile tail of the
unfortunate creature who, as Poss said, looked as if he were wishing
for a pair of wings.

Blake turned to Mary. "Do you want to stop and see it killed?" he
said. "It's rather a murderous business. The 'possum has no chance.
One of the boys will go up the tree and shake the branch till the
'possum falls off, and when it falls the dogs will kill it."